Eating Disorders And The American Culture

Eating Disorders And The American Culture

3118 WordsNov 14th, 201413 Pages

Eating Disorders
Eating disorders are well known in the American culture. It is most likely that people in America know at least one person who has or is currently suffering from an eating disorder. Eating disorders take many forms such as bulimia, anorexia nervosa, binge-eating, and even obesity. The focus of this paper however will be solely on anorexia nervosa. It will breakdown the basics of anorexia as well as compare and contrast the movie Starving in Suburbia with scholarly literature.
Anorexia
According to Bemporad (1996), anorexia was thought to have first appeared in the 19th century until more researched revealed that it was prevalent in earlier times. However to delve into the history it is important to understand that anorexia is considered self-starvation. In the biblical days, it was within the norms to fast as an homage or fulfillment to God. Biblical figures such as Moses, Jesus, and Elijah all took part in a 40-day fast in which they sustained from eating hence considered to be self-starvation (Bemporad, 1996). Although their purpose in withholding from food was not the same as those, who suffer from anorexia it could be argued that they still indulged in a form of self-starvation. If the DSM-V were around in those days it is a wonder if they would be considered to meet some of the criteria of anorexia. However, more details on their mental health, normal and societal functioning would be needed. Those who see the Bible from a more scientific standpoint…

Psychopathology and Culture: The Epidemic of Eating Disorders
By: Bernadette Oldfield
Dr. Van Arsdale
Abnormal Psychology
6 May 2015
Throughout cultures, mental disorders vary immensely. In some cultures, certain disorders are considered taboo and not even recognized, in other cultures, the treatment of certain disorders varies, but the biggest thing that is different, is how certain disorders effect certain cultures and races less or more than others. This is something…

Thomas1
Maddie Thomas
Hantack 4
English II
October 15, 2016
How American Society and Culture Influence Eating Disorders In Women
Today in American society, we are all about body image. The media has promoted a certain type of body in which almost everyone feels they must have in order to fit in and be accepted. Unfortunately, this mentality leads to eating disorders. What most people fail to realize is that not everyone is meant to have the specific body type that is constantly…

the development of eating disorders? People living in countries influenced by Western culture show concern for their appearance or dietary habits daily. This paper will analyze the effect of mass media on the issues of body image and eating disorders in the United States.
According to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders-IV-TR (DSM-IV-TR) (2000) eating disorders are characterized by a disturbance in eating behavior, which can be eating too much, eating too little, or simply…

It has been found that eating disorders are most common in the western and industrialized culture where food is abundant. This is because these individuals attach a lot of importance to their physical appearance and are willing to do anything to get the dream figure. An eating disorder is not just watching what one eats and exercising on a daily basis but is rather an illness that causes serious disturbances in eating behaviour, such as great and harmful cutback of the consumption of food as well…

Eating disorders effecting American women have been on the rise in recent year. The alarming trend of increasing cases of these psychological disorders has sparked intellectual inquiry into their shared features. The rising amount of societal pressures that many women around the country feel have caused a lot of women to turn to food as a coping mechanism. Whether it is control exhorted over food or eating as a means to feel numb, women look to food to make themselves feel a certain way. Food…

Abstract
This paper is in reference to eating disorders in African American women, and how they differ to those of other minority groups. Through research, it was found that eating disorders are not as known in African American women, or women of minority due to cultural differences. Different studies were analyzed of African American women at different colleges, to verify that eating disorders were prevalent in the sample groups. It was concluded in several studies that obesity rates, racial…

1.Simpson, K. (2002). Anorexia nervosa and culture. Journal Of Psychiatric & Mental
Health Nursing, 9(1), 65-71.
This article describes how unrealistic standards of attractiveness set by Western society are internalized by women from a variety of cultural backgrounds and translated into fat-phobia and body dissatisfaction and then discusses alternative cultural influences for food refusal such as issues of control, acculturation, and religious asceticism. The author claims that there is a need…

In 1980, the first African American Barbie was introduced to the world , 21 years after the original Barbie was created. The African American doll had a small waist and skinny legs, which is similar to the original Caucasian Barbie. (Reel & Soohoo, 2008) Many say that the creation of the first African American Barbie doll was the start of negative body image within the African American community. People say this because the new Barbie promoted certain societal views that are very much still present…

Eating Disorders
Even though eating disorders are less prevalent in society today than they have been in the past, they are still one of the most diagnosed mental illnesses today. These three illnesses have short term as well as long term effects that can leave a damaging toll on the patients’ lives and are very hard to overcome. This is shown through not only the characteristics of Anorexia nervosa, Bulimia Nervosa, Binge-eating Disease, but also through the psychological and physical harm these…

Asian American 's and Eating Disorders
Introduction
When one thinks of the ideal physique and what it takes to achieve this, most simply go to diet modification and exercise. However when it comes to adolescents, the need to fit in is immediate and often time fast measures are taken to achieve what they consider as the perfect body. Adolescent culture is ever changing but when combined with home cultural views the stress that it can place on a teenager to conform can lead to development of disordered…